Hyundai wants its fuel cell cars to take over taxi duties in Paris

The French capital is among the European cities looking to combat pollution and with the new found adversity for diesels the South Koreans from Hyundai took the opportunity to present them with their fuel cell technology.

Hyundai – alongside Toyota – is one of the few proponents of fuel cell technology – an electrical powertrain that uses hydrogen instead of battery power. Their latest push comes in the City of Light, with the company announcing a fleet of 60 fuel cell SUVs are due to enter service to fulfill taxi duties. They joined forces with taxi start-up STEP (Societe du Taxi Electrique Parisien), so Hyundai will be delivering the ix35 fuel-cell vehicle to roads starting as early as the beginning of 2017, with first deliveries taking place in December. When all vehicles will be in operation they will post a record for the biggest single fuel-cell taxi fleet in the world.

“With the memorandum of today, STEP and Hyundai Motor have committed to bring 60 additional ix35 Fuel Cell taxis to the streets of Paris,” says Thomas A. Schmid, Chief Operating Officer at Hyundai Motor Europe. “Not only will the fuel cell taxis provide a clean transportation solution for the city, they are also a practical, comfortable and reliable choice for drivers and passengers.” More so, the company wants to have hundreds of fuel cell vehicles roaming the streets of Paris within just half a decade. The ix35 fuel cell could help save more than 800 tons of C02 per year in exhaust emissions, while still being able to go for 369 miles (594 kilometers) on a single tank.